


at home beneath the stars

by undieshogun



Series: live by the sun, love by the moon [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation Spoilers, M/M, Mentions of Drowning, Other unpleasant themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-12 13:09:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7105741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undieshogun/pseuds/undieshogun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I know what it's like," Niles says quietly to Takumi. "To be afraid to fall asleep every night."</p>
            </blockquote>





	at home beneath the stars

**Author's Note:**

> i guess i'm just doomed to writing nothing but rarepairs in this fandom....i did really enjoy exploring this dynamic between niles and takumi tho. this came to me when i realised that both takumi and niles probably spend a lot of nights awake, takumi bc he has bad dreams and niles because he likes to moongaze. i started losing steam towards the last scene, so it's probably a bit lacking but i did my best so i hope you guys enjoy ;v; this ones for you, yao
> 
> you can find me on twitter @shiirasagi !

The worst nightmares are the ones where he _knows_ he's dreaming, knows who he is and where he is, and as he watches the world tear itself apart quietly, or watches his friends die and drowns slowly and painlessly in their blood, and begs himself desperately to wake up, wake up, this isn't real but it hurts so _wake up--_

Those are the ones he remembers long after he's snapped his eyes open, bolting up in his futon to gasp in sharp night air while cold sweat trails down the back of his neck, sticking his hair to his skin.

Those are the ones that don't let him go back to sleep, the ones that force him out of his futon onto tired feet, rubbing his stinging eyes as he wanders out onto the castle grounds in the hopes that the clear, quiet air will help him forget what he knows he won't.

Tonight, he roams through the wheat fields, letting the brush of each stalk against his legs keep him grounded. The moon is full and bright, casting its pale light over the field, and Takumi pauses for a moment. He glances down and, carefully and deliberately, snaps off a stalk of wheat and holds it in the palm of his hand for a moment before picking it apart.

 _Control_. It's how he knows he isn't still dreaming. He drops each kernel of wheat onto the ground at his feet, listening to the soft _plod_ of it against the dirt. How strange that someone should have more control over themselves in the real world--a world filled with countless unexplainable phenomena, where just one stroke of fate can turn someone's life on its head--than they do inside their own mind.

But Takumi has lived all his life at the mercy of his own poisonous thoughts, and he knows that the mind is more powerful than most people give it credit, especially when it is working against itself.

"What's this?"

The voice breaks through the quiet of the night, startling Takumi so badly he jumps and drops the wheat with a barely contained yelp.

He swivels in the direction of the voice, heat rising to his face as he opens his mouth to berate the intruder (the fields aren't his, but the quiet was)--but he falters as he struggles to put a name to the face of the man standing before him.

Nohrian--he can tell that much right away, from the outlaw's outfit he wears underneath the large adventurer’s cape. _Outlaw._ It’s just a fancy word for "thief" in Takumi’s book.  

The eyepatch--the dark skin and the white hair, all of it he recognises, but the other makes him first.

"Prince Takumi," says Prince Leo's retainer, and Takumi knows that easy smile, too, the one that raises hackles wherever it appears.

"...Niles," he bites out. He's heard about Niles, about his disposition towards making people uncomfortable just for the fun of it. Takumi is perfectly capable of being uncomfortable during a conversation all on his own, and he doesn't need someone like Niles around to make it worse, especially during nights like these. In his opinion, people like Niles are probably the worst sort.

He doesn’t say any of this, of course, but he’s always been bad at hiding his emotions.

"There's no need to bare your teeth at me like that, my lord," Niles says in a tone that would be placating in anyone else’s voice, but coming from him it just sounds like he's making fun of him. "I was only passing by and thought perhaps someone was causing trouble in our fields. I didn't realise it was you."

Takumi shrugs vaguely and bites back the urge to ask what Niles is doing out at this time of night, because he doesn't care.

"Having trouble sleeping?" Niles is the one to ask instead.

 _That's none of your business_ , Takumi almost says, but what stops him is the reminder that Niles is a soldier, too, and sleepless nights are not an uncommon phenomenon in this army. So he nods awkwardly and says, "You too?"

Niles tilts his head, still wearing that strange and horrible smile. "Not really." He points upwards. "The moon is nice tonight, so I thought I'd come out and do some gazing, that's all."

Niles is right. The astral plane's moon resembles the one from their own world, and tonight it does look particularly dazzling, full and bright. Vaguely, Takumi wonders what the moon looks like in his dreams. He's never quite been in the right state of mind to stop and see.

"It must be difficult," says Niles, and Takumi pulls his gaze away from the moon to look back down at him.

"What must be difficult?" asks Takumi, wondering if Niles has been talking to him the entire time. Did he miss something?

"Getting used to sleeping in the barracks like a common soldier," says Niles. "You must have had a nice room back at your palace, with a big, soft bed."

 _Patience_ , Takumi tells himself as he fights back the urge to snap at Niles, ask him if he's always so prone to making baseless assumptions. Corrin had asked that of him, to have _patience_ with the Nohrians when their armies had come together for the first time at the Bottomless Canyon, at the edge of a whole other world. So he tries, keeping his voice even as he replies,

"This is my first experience with war. I've trained since I was young, but I've never known much of real combat."

"Aw," says Niles softly, voice dripping sweet like overripe peaches off his tongue. "I'm sure if you asked Big Sister, she'd be more than willing to let you go back home to your nice, comfy bed."

Takumi doesn't realise how tightly he's been clenching his teeth until he grinds them together hard enough that he swears he hears something crack. "Where I sleep doesn't change what I dream of."

Niles's expression changes, falling into something unreadable, but Takumi doesn't care to dwell on it as he turns around to leave.

"If you wanted me out of your way, you should have just said so."

-:-

There is no pattern to the nightmares, no way to predict when they will come or what they will show him. Sometimes he has them every night for days in a row--sometimes he'll go entire weeks without dreaming at all. Whether or not he's been in battle that day has no bearing on what he sees that night. He'll have tea with Sakura one afternoon, then close his eyes hours later to see her sinking into the black earth, hands stretched out desperately towards him, always just out of reach.

The only thing he knows for sure is that they will always be terrible, the next impossibly worse than the last.

The seasons don't change in the astral plane or in Valla, but Takumi knows that fall is approaching because he's been counting the days ever since the war started. Back at Castle Shirasagi, he was always too busy during the day to notice the leaves change, whether it was training with the Fujin Yumi or submitting to tedious history and politics tutoring sessions. But at night, though the nightmares still tormented him and the interrupted sleep did him no more good than it did during any other season, he could at least sit out in the gardens and study the trees, taking in every detail he could to occupy himself. And the next time he was up, he would see how they had changed since he'd last seen them, and it was proof that he had managed to pull himself through those days in between.

But here...well, it would be unfair to say that nothing has changed since the first time Takumi stepped through the portal. The fishing pond and the wheat fields have become larger, more bountiful, growing as if they were actually alive. The lapis spring and emerald mines burst with gemstones, and every day the energy that pulses in the air around them and in the ground underneath their feet, a dragon's energy, grows stronger.

It is a sign of Corrin's growing power, and a sign of growing hope for the army as they make their way into the heart of the forgotten world that is Valla.

It is the reassurance that this war will be over soon, that they will be home in time to see the last of the leaves turn orange and drift from their branches.

At least, that's what Takumi tries to make himself believe as he sprinkles bread crumbs into the fish pond late one night and watches the fish come up to eat, water rippling and bubbling as the creatures swim over each other in a mad scramble for scraps.

The moon is only a sliver in the sky tonight, its light weak and dull over the surface of the pond, but Takumi still notices the shadow of a figure looming over him. His first instinct is to be on guard, but it only takes him a second of deliberation to gather that there is no malicious intent. He looks up over his shoulder to see Niles standing behind him a couple feet away, watching him with a pensive look on his face. When he notices Takumi looking, however, his expression falters and changes into the same unreadable look he'd given him the last time.

Wordlessly, Takumi turns back around and takes a moment to deliberate. Which sounds worse--going back to sleep with the image of burning villages and skies torn asunder still fresh in his mind, or having to spend the next however many moments alone with Niles?

Regrettably, the answer doesn't come to him in the next instant, so he talks to fill the silence before it gets awkward.

"Moongazing again?"

"...Do you mind if I join you?"

Takumi shakes his head, and he doesn't realise he's holding his breath until he finds himself letting it out quietly after Niles sits down next to him at the edge of the fish pond. Inwardly, he wonders just what it was that he was expecting Niles to do, and if Niles is aware of just how much he puts Takumi on edge.

Niles crosses his legs and leans back, propping himself up on his arms as he tilts his head up towards the sky.

"There's not much to see tonight, is there?" remarks Takumi absently, following his gaze up to look at the crescent moon.

"Hm..." That thoughtful expression is back on Niles's face, and for a second Takumi wonders if he's offended him. "It's strange, isn't it? How the moon is always changing even though it isn't alive."

"Oh. I--I guess," is all Takumi manages. He's never really thought about it--no one he's talked to ever has. The moon is so far away, so unreachable, would there ever be any way to answer all the questions one might have to ask about it?

"I think that's why I find myself so drawn to it," Niles continues. "Makes you think, if something so big and so far away can change...It reminds you that people can change, too. Gives you hope for yourself."

Takumi blinks, eyes widening, and turns to look at Niles, who keeps his gaze fixed up at the sky. Perhaps he shouldn't be so surprised. Everyone has something about themselves that they don't like.

"I'm sure your friends appreciate you just as you are," Takumi mutters somewhat flatly, if only because he would feel strange trying to be genuinely nice.

Niles barks out a laugh, unabashedly loud in the absolute quiet of the night. The water in the fish pond is still--with no more food to fight over, the fish have retreated into the deeper parts of the pool. Nobody is out on the castle grounds except for a night patrol of several soldiers. It's later than Takumi thought it was.

"Don't you get tired during the day?" says Takumi. "Staying up all the time."

"Don't you?" Niles returns.

Takumi bristles, ready to snap a sharp retort if Niles is going to start teasing him again, but Niles sees the expression on his face and puts a hand up.

"I owe you an apology for the way I acted during the last time we spoke, Prince Takumi," he says, and it catches Takumi off guard.

"That--I don't really care. It wasn't a big deal," Takumi says quickly, because he's not going to whine about how Niles was being _mean_ to him, no matter how much it ticked him off.

"I crossed a line," insists Niles. He turns to look at Takumi, and _gods_ why can't Takumi ever make heads or tails of that expression? "I gave you the impression that I resent you for your privilege, which was true at first, but you're also a soldier. Every soldier struggles during war regardless of where they come from."

Takumi looks away. There's something about the sincerity in Niles's voice that makes him nervous. Perhaps he preferred it when Niles was being a complete ass instead. "The nightmares didn't start with the war," he admits. "I've had them ever since I was a child."

“I see. I'm sorry to hear that," says Niles quietly. "You don't deserve to suffer so."

The polite thing to do would be to thank him. Instead Takumi says: "What makes you so convinced of that?"

Niles shrugs. "Because you wouldn't be trying so hard to avoid them if you thought you did."

Takumi drops his head and huffs out a laugh. "And you would know, wouldn't you?" He knows right away that it was the wrong thing to say, but Niles only shrugs again.

"I was a criminal for a long time. I've been stealing since I could walk, but the first time I actually took a life, the guilt crippled me. Those dreams where I was seeing what I'd done, over and over again, or being killed in retribution...I accepted them as my punishment. That's often how it is for people who make a living of taking from others."

Takumi doesn't realise he's been staring at Niles until Niles raises his eyebrows at him, mouth curving up into a crooked smile. He averts his gaze before the other can make any comments.

"Can't imagine you feeling guilty about anything," Takumi mutters.

"I do happen to be really good at hiding it," says Niles. "But trust me, I have my fair share of regrets bundled up somewhere very, very deep inside."

Takumi pulls his legs up against his chest and leans over them, resting his cheek on his knees. "I guess they would be easier to deal with if I felt like there was a reason for them."

"Sometimes bad things happen to innocent people," says Niles. "Isn't that what we're fighting in this war to prevent?"

It was supposed to make him feel better, but now Takumi just feels like kicking himself. There are so many others out there who have had it worse than him--lost their homes and their families to the war between Nohr and Hoshido, and now the Vallite invasion. He feels conceited for making such a big deal about a few nightmares. He glances up at Niles, who meets his gaze with a steady stare. In some distant corner of his mind, it occurs to Takumi that it is difficult to discern the color of Niles's eye in the darkness.

"You should get some rest, Prince Takumi," Niles says. "We're marching tomorrow."

Takumi scowls, but his indignation at being told what to do is somewhat overshadowed by the large yawn that works its way out of his chest at that exact moment. Images of the dream still linger--walls of red flames, cracks of lightning parting the skies above his head--but he has found other things to think about, too, to distract him.

Niles senses his hesitance. "Shall I walk you to back to the barracks?" he offers, teeth flashing white against the dark night in a cheshire grin, and Takumi practically jumps to his feet, arms stiff at his sides.

"No, thanks," he says through his teeth as he turns to leave.

The smile is still apparent in Niles's voice when he says "Goodnight, Prince Takumi."

Takumi swallows down the urge to ask Niles if he'll be here again tomorrow night, and simply stalks away without replying.

-:- 

Talking about the dreams doesn't make them go away, but it makes it easier for Takumi to let go of them so that he can go back to sleep. Back at the castle, he would talk about them to his mother. At the beginning of the Nohrian-Hoshidan war, before Corrin came along and changed everything, sometimes Sakura would find Takumi curled up in the corner of the armory because it was the quietest place in the camp.

Even now he doesn't know if the quiet helped or if it only made it easier for him to run the images over in his mind. And these days, Sakura is too tired to be up in the middle of the night looking for Takumi to make sure he's sleeping all right.

But Niles is there, and Takumi isn't so self-centered as to imagine that he's doing it for him, but he is a presence nonetheless.

The late Queen Mikoto and Sakura never asked Takumi to talk about his dreams. They simply stayed by his side, and sometimes he would be silent for long stretches of time, stewing in his own panic and anxiety before he could bring himself to speak.

Niles doesn't let him stew. He talks to Takumi, about the moon (he has many opinions about the moon, mostly regarding when and from where one should watch it at night), about what he's been up to recently (nothing good, usually, but if he feels any remorse about it it doesn’t show), and sometimes about himself (but never about something that he probably hasn't already told someone else). And when Takumi talks about what he's seen that night, Niles asks him questions--where was he, what did everything look like, was he scared?

At first, it comes off as some sort of sadistic fascination, which sounds typical of Niles. But as Takumi reluctantly begins answering his questions, he finds that remembering certain details of the dreams (sometimes the sky is the wrong color, the bodies around him are disproportionate, he doesn't actually recognise any of the crumbling buildings around him) makes them feel less real. He wonders if this is how Niles copes with his own dreams, but can never bring himself to ask.

Niles doesn't tell Takumi what he dreams about, though Takumi can make his own guesses given what Niles has revealed about his past. But it isn't only his past that Takumi learns about as they talk.

Takumi learns that Niles likes to eat spicy foods (common in Hoshido but rare for a Nohrian), studies the weaknesses of both allies and enemies alike during his free time, and owns a pet cat that may or may not be fake, as no one else in the army has ever seen or heard of it.

Takumi also learns one day, as they watch the red sun rise over the horizon after a particularly long night of soft, casual conversation, that the color of Niles's single eye is a deep, ocean-colored blue.

"I suppose it's too late to head back to the barracks now," Niles says quietly, making Takumi jump.

Hoping the other hasn't noticed him staring, Takumi looks away quickly and tries to figure out how he feels about this new information. "I didn't realise how long we were out here," he mumbles.

"Oh, I did," says Niles offhandedly.

"You could have said something."

"And miss out on this quality time with you?" Niles chuckles at the way Takumi's expression twists into an embarrassed grimace. "You know, it's a shame that we never see much of each other during the day."

"I actually happen to have things to do," says Takumi. "Princely duties to attend to, a war to fight in."

"What about tonight, after the march?" asks Niles, and the question throws Takumi off.

"What?" is his clever reply. He frowns at Niles like he's grown his lost eye back. "After the march I have to...it's my turn to inventory the armory."

"So, you're not busy."

"I mean...it only takes a couple of hours--Niles, why are you asking?" Takumi finally says after failing to make sense of Niles's unreadable expression.

Niles shifts--inching closer to Takumi, and then pauses as if he isn't sure what to do. In the end, he settles for staying where he is, their shoulders just barely brushing. "I want to show you something tonight."

Something in Takumi's stomach jumps at those words, but then his lip curls, because he'd heard Niles use that line on Tsubaki the other day and he knows what it means. "Just when I start thinking you're a halfway decent person..."

"What--? Come on, that's not what I meant." Niles's smile turns into something sheepish and almost beseeching. "Just this once, tonight. And bring your gear."

Takumi chews on the inside of his cheek and wishes he knew what Niles was thinking. "Fine, but you'd better not be dragging me along to cause any trouble."

Niles grins, the one that's all teeth and makes the hairs on Takumi's arms stand on end. "If you see any trouble brewing, you're free to punish me for it right away."

All expression drops from Takumi's face. "Right," he says flatly. "Bye, then."

Niles laughs at Takumi's reaction, full and bright, but before Takumi has a chance to let it confuse him, Niles grasps his wrist lightly and catches his eyes with that same beseeching gaze. "Meet me at the fish pond after sundown?"

"Fine, already," says Takumi, clenching his fist to keep his arm from shaking in Niles's grip. He pulls away and Niles lets him, and as he walks away he resists the urge to pull his wrist in close towards himself, instead letting the warmth fade.

-:-

Takumi is half-expecting Niles not to be there when he makes it to the fish pond shortly after finishing up his inventory of the armory, but he finds him sitting at the edge of the water in his usual spot. His head is tilted up, facing the direction where the moon usually rises from, though it isn't high enough in the sky to be seen yet just now.

Both of them are wearing their full armor. Niles has a large silver bow slung across his back, and Takumi has brought his Fujin Yumi. Nobody questioned Takumi as he made his way across the castle grounds like this--invasions on the castle have been happening more frequently since their venture into Valla, and it is not uncommon for soldiers to be patrolling without being assigned to it.

It makes Takumi feel bad for letting everyone assume that of him, since Niles probably doesn't have a patrol in mind for tonight's activity, whatever it is he's up to.

"Oh--" says Niles when he notices Takumi approaching. "You came."

"Were you not expecting me to?" asks Takumi. It makes Takumi wonder if maybe he shouldn't have agreed to this after all. _Did you not want me to?_

Niles gives a vague shrug and smiles, but averts his gaze. "Ready to go?"

"Go _where?_ " asks Takumi, though he already has a good idea, what with Niles's insistence on arming themselves.

"Just..." Niles jerks his head towards the western portal. "Right outside."

Takumi shifts his feet, stomach turning uncomfortably. So he was right. "You want to leave the astral plane? With just the two of us?"

"It'll only be for a little while," Niles says. "No one will notice us--Vallite or human. And even if they do, we can handle ourselves, don't you think?"

Takumi has seen Niles in action during battle. They don't fight together often, but it's hard not to be drawn every once in a while to the cold, ruthless precision Niles puts into every one of his shots. 

"Fine," he relents. "But just for a little while, or else we'll be missed."

"I won't," says Niles simply, and Takumi can tell by the way the corner of his eye crinkles that he's waiting to see Takumi's response.

Takumi gives in. "You're not a royal prince," he mutters, and rolls his eyes when Niles chuckles.

"No, I certainly am not." He gestures grandly towards the portal to Valla. "Shall we, Prince Takumi?"

Takumi only gives himself a second to wonder if maybe he should have left a note in his room in case something happens--before he's stepping through the portal, with Niles close at his heels.

Valla at night is something unfamiliar to Takumi. The army avoids being there during the nighttime, mostly because it is already difficult enough to fight against the Vallites during the day, when the air that distorts around their unearthly figures can only been seen underneath the sun's bright rays.

It is quiet here at night, though not in the same way as it is in the astral plane. Takumi hears crickets chirping, and the grass underneath their feet rustles in the small evening breeze that passes by. It reminds Takumi of home.

From beside them, a bush rustles, and without meaning to, Takumi jumps. He senses no Vallite presence anywhere in the vicinity, but that doesn't stop him from feeling vulnerable just by being out here. He makes an aborted movement to grasp the Fujin Yumi, but he knows that if he does that Niles will notice that he's been spooked. Feeling a flash of indignant pride, he closes his hands into fists and forces himself to leave them at his sides.

Still, Niles must have seen him jump, because he steps in closer behind Takumi until he can feel the heat radiating from him, pushing up against his back and chasing away the cold Valla night air. Takumi presses his lips together and tries not to shy away from the closeness. He wants to snap at Niles that he doesn't need to be protected, but bites his tongue because Niles hasn't said anything either, and somehow that makes Takumi feel a little less defensive about it.

Wordlessly, Niles puts a hand on Takumi's shoulder, making him look up, and gestures at the small dirt road lying just a few meters ahead.

"Where exactly are we going?" Takumi asks, keeping his voice low.

"You'll see," is all Niles says before he takes the lead in swift, quiet steps.

Takumi jogs a little to keep up, following closely behind Niles. The other's large adventurer's cape flutters lightly, and Takumi resists the strange urge to reach out and hold onto it.

The path they follow takes them through a grassy plain that seems to stretch on as far as the eye can see, with very few trees--which means little cover. He moves in closer still, coming up right beside Niles. Niles glances down at him, but again doesn't make any comments, and the smile he flashes at Takumi is something genuine and soft.

Takumi looks away quickly, heat rising to his cheeks, and tries to distract himself by taking in the scenery. The first thing that had struck Takumi about Valla when they first arrived was how beautiful it was. The underground world is in a state of eternal spring, they'd learned from Azura. And she was right. The plant life is always fresh and vibrant--tall grass and full, deeply colored trees and shrubs follow them everywhere they go, their hues never fading even as the weeks pass and turn to months.

There is even something inexplicably beautiful about the masses of broken land floating in the sky, perhaps because of the sheer impossibility of the phenomenon. So much about the world of Valla is so familiar and yet so mysterious at the same time.

It reminds Takumi of the world he sees in his nightmares. Nothing is like he knows it to be, yet it all feels so real. For a second, he hesitates, stopping in his tracks. Is he dreaming right now?

Niles notices and stops as well, turning around. "Prince Takumi?" His expression falls into that easy smile of his when he sees the way Takumi is biting his lip. "You're not scared, are you?" he teases lightly.

Takumi swallows as he feels heat gathering at the back of his neck, and he realises that he is clenching the Fujin Yumi tightly in one hand, itching to draw it. _No,_ he reminds himself forcefully. _You still have control. This isn't a dream_. Yet when he opens his mouth, it is to implore softly, "Let's go back."

Niles's smile falters, and Takumi ducks his gaze before he can see it turn into pity, or worse--disappointment.

"Never mind," he says quickly. "I just--I thought I saw something. Forget it."

"We can go back if you don't want to be out here," says Niles, stepping in closer, and before Takumi can flinch away there is a warm hand on his arm.

The touch is unexpected--Niles has kept an almost careful distance during the past few weeks they've slowly started becoming friends (that's what this is, isn't it?), but there is nothing careful about the way he lays his hand on Takumi's forearm. When Takumi looks up, all he sees is concern, formalities forgotten.

It's embarrassing how long it has taken him to come to the realisation that he has never once seen Niles in any of his dreams. There is something irrevocably _real_ about Niles, something that makes it easy for Takumi to feel anchored when he's around.

Slowly, his grip on the Fujin Yumi goes slack and he feels his shoulders relax. Valla's cool night air is crisp against the back of his neck, ruffling his clothes. From above them, the broken land masses float quiet and still, blocking off parts of the sky from his view. He sees clusters of stars (at least, that's what he thinks they are) scattered about against the black canvas, but no moon. Distantly, he wonders if Valla hasa moon. _Something_ is casting the dim light that surrounds them.

"It's fine," Takumi says. "Let's keep going."

Niles takes his hand off of Takumi's arm. "Are you sure?"

The loss of contact makes Takumi feel a little cold, but he disguises his disappointment with a frown. "Let's just get this over with already."

Niles laughs.  "Right this way, then. It isn't very far off." He takes the lead again, and this time Takumi stays behind him, no longer so nervous that he feels the need to walk by his side. Niles's cape looks warm around his shoulders, thick and heavy-looking, and Takumi finds himself reaching out towards it to feel it before he draws his hand back, cheeks heating up, and is glad Niles doesn't notice.

"Here we are," Niles says, though there is nothing but more grassland as far as Takumi can see on all sides.

But then he spots it a few meters ahead--the grass is taller, rising up several inches high, and lighter as well, as if it's being illuminated by something. When Takumi looks up, he realises that they've been walking under the shadow of a particularly large floating island since they left the astral plane.

Niles leads him out into the patch of tall grass and, with a small smile, points up.

"Ah--" Takumi has to rub his eyes to make sure he isn't seeing things at first.

Three large moons, each just a little smaller than the moon from back home, sit in a diagonal line across the sky, shining down brightly with full, clean light. The one in the middle, smaller than the other two by just enough that it is noticeable, is dusted with a light pink hue, and the ones on either side of it are identical in size and are both the same pale blue color.

"This is..."

"Valla's three moons," says Niles. "They're always full, but every few weeks they shift position and color. The one in the middle always takes on the red shade, and the ones on either side are always blue."

Niles rummages around in his pack, and Takumi watches as he pulls out a large blanket and lays it out on the tall grass, pressing it down. He gestures, and Takumi sits down on one side near the end, though there is plenty of room for both of them to stretch out. Niles doesn't comment, though he sits closer to the center.

"Have you been coming out here ever since we came to Valla?" says Takumi, looking back up. For the first few moments, it's more bizarre than it is beautiful, but soon he finds himself enraptured by the pale, almost unnatural hues. He raises his hand, watching the way the light comes down and stains his skin with strange pinks and blues that mix into purple.

"I'd say I've seen some things," Niles replies, and Takumi can see out of the corner of his eye that Niles is staring at him.

Takumi resolves himself to not looking back.

"The one in the middle, the smallest one, is named Valkyrie," says Niles.

"They have names?" says Takumi, then immediately feels stupid for asking that. Of course you would have to name something you have multiples of.

Niles simply nods and continues. "The one on the right, with the marks where the colors are darker, is named Freyja. And the one on the left, with no marks at all, is called Hela."

"Did Azura tell you about this?" asks Takumi.

"On the first night we came here. It turns out Princess Valla is an avid stargazer as well," says Niles, then he pauses. "Or perhaps she was only out there that one night to remind herself of what she's been missing all those years she was forced to spend away from home."

"She used to visit Valla," says Takumi. "She was always going out to that lake near the castle." Then again, visiting is different from making a home.

With a small sigh, Niles lowers himself onto his back, laying his bow down at his side. Takumi hesitates, but then Niles smiles up at him. "It's easier on your neck like this."

"Oh--right," agrees Takumi, and he places the Fujin Yumi down, keeping it right within reach, before lying down as well.

The blanket cushions him against the prickling tall grass, making it feel like an airy mattress instead. His ponytail presses up against his head and he undoes the ribbon, letting his hair fall free. It's comfortable, and he feels himself really relax for the first time that evening. He wonders what he would dream about if he were to fall asleep here.

"This is nice," he says under his breath, mostly to himself, but Niles still hears him.

"I'm glad you think so," he says.

Contrary to his earlier promise to himself, he turns to give Niles a long, searching look. "Why did you bring me here?"

Niles meets his stare with a steady eye, and Takumi wonders if he's looked away from him even once since they got here. "I just thought it'd be a nice change of pace for you."

Takumi frowns, and there's that frustration again, prickling at the back of his thoughts--why can't he ever tell what Niles is thinking? "Niles, really."

Niles shrugs. "Really," he says. "I just thought you might like it here. Isn't this what friends do for each other?"

Takumi opens his mouth, and finds that he doesn't know how to reply. He wasn't expecting Niles to say something like that with such pure honesty. He shuts his mouth and looks back up at the dark sky, letting the silence sit heavy between them.

"Takumi," Niles says softly not a minute later.

Takumi turns to look at him, his thick hair bunching up under his cheek as he does so. For a second, Niles seems to fumble with his words, frowning as if he's suddenly forgotten what he was going to say.

"What is it?" Takumi prompts.

Niles looks at him for a moment. The combined light of the three moons in this world are brighter than the moon from their home world, and from here Takumi can see the way the blue in Niles's eye gleams softly.

For once, Niles is the one to look away, eye darting down and pale lashes coming down to brush against his cheek. Takumi never noticed how long they were. Softly, he takes in a breath.

"I know what it's like," Niles says so quietly Takumi would be sure he imagined it if he hadn't seen Niles's lips moving. "To be afraid to fall asleep every night."

The words make Takumi's breath catch, and again he is unable to reply.

"I lost this eye when I was young--it was stolen from me by a man even more despicable than I am," Niles continues in that same low voice. "For years after that, I spent every night reliving that horrible moment in a thousand different ways. Sometimes I would go days on end without sleep."

"That's terrible. I'm sorry," says Takumi, as if Niles hasn't heard that a million times already. The thought makes Takumi pause. Perhaps Niles hasn't told many people about this.

"It was a long time ago," says Niles. "But I spent many nights wondering if I was doomed to be haunted forever by something that wasn't my fault."

Takumi swallows dryly. "Does it ever get better?"

"The dreams? No," says Niles, and it's what Takumi was expecting, but the disappointment still stings. "But they get easier to deal with if you know what to do."

Takumi can't help the scoff that escapes him. "Like I haven't heard that one before. I've tried all kinds of things--medicines, magic spells..."

"And now you're trying this," says Niles.

Takumi hesitates. Is this why he'd agreed to come with Niles? In the hopes of finally finding some way to sleep soundly? "I suppose so," he murmurs.

Niles smiles softly, and there is something strikingly endearing about the way his cheek is pressed up against the blanket, his curly hair falling forward to frame his face. Suddenly self-conscious, Takumi runs a hand over his arm in a nervous gesture.

"Are you cold?" Niles asks.

"No, I'm fine," Takumi replies hastily, but Niles is already unclasping his cloak and pulling it off his shoulders.

"Here." Niles lays the cloak over Takumi.

Warmth rushes over Takumi's skin, and he's sure it isn't just because of the cloak. The fabric is thick but light, and the material is something soft that Takumi isn't sure he recognises. Something Nohrian, he presumes. An earthy scent envelops him-- _Niles's scent_ , he realises with a jolt of embarrassment. "But you'll be cold," he says, trying not to stutter as his ears burn. "Your clothes are--" Takumi suddenly becomes violently aware of the deep drop in the neckline of Niles's shirt, exposing an expanse of smooth skin, and he squeezes his eyes closed in what he's sure is an obvious display of agitation. "...thinner than mine," he finishes weakly.

Niles chuckles softly. "It's fine. If I do this--" He shifts and lies down so that their arms are pressed up against each other, putting his head close to Takumi's. "Then it's not so bad, see?"

Takumi inhales sharply at the contact--this sheer proximity is something he's never shared with another person outside of his family, but Niles doesn't seem to notice as he points up towards the sky.

"Look," Niles murmurs, breath puffing warm over Takumi's shoulder.

Someone's hair tickles Takumi's ear, and he isn't sure whose it is. He struggles to pay attention, moving his gaze up to following Niles's. He wonders if Niles can feel the heat radiating from his face right now, and the thought only makes his cheeks burn harder.

"Right there, see that little cluster of stars to the right of Freyja?" says Niles. "That one's been following us during our entire march, but the others change their orientation in a completely different manner."

"You mean, the stars here move differently from how they move back in our world?" Takumi breathes.

"That's what it seems like," Niles replies. "Azura told me there are charts that map their journeys and patterns in the libraries of what used to be the royal palace at Valla."

"Do you think we'll get a chance to see that castle?" asks Takumi. _After the war_ , he wants to ask but knows he'll never give himself the chance, _do you think we'll get to take those maps and plot out the stars together?_

"Who knows," says Niles. "I think I'd like to, though."

Takumi nods his agreement. "What else did Azura tell you about this world's sky?" he asks, and can't help but smile when Niles takes in a long breath.

Takumi lets Niles's voice wash over him, feeling his eyelids grow heavy as Niles points out different stars and star clusters and explains to him their movements and their names--the Vallites believe that many powerful figures in their history became stars to live eternally in the sky after the deaths of their mortal bodies, Niles tells Takumi in his deep, smooth voice as Takumi feels himself drifting.

A breeze ruffles the grass around them, and Takumi is grateful that Niles gave him his cloak. Drowsily, he pulls it tighter around himself and buries his face into it, letting the earthy scent surround him.

The last thing he feels before falling asleep is the sweep of a light touch against his cheek and the press of something warm and soft against his forehead.

-:- 

The flood comes from the sky, a torrential downpour that doesn't stop, swallowing buildings and people alike from the ground up. Takumi knows their screams, has heard them before, begging for help, praying for it, but the choking--the wet, desperate gasps as cold water rushes down their throats and fills their lungs, grates against his ears.

He tries to run, but everything is heavy--the rain pounding down on him from all sides, the brown water rising up towards his chest, over his legs and his waist, making it impossible for him to move--

"Takumi!" the voice is no one and everyone at once--his family, his friends, his comrades--it comes from all around him, strangled by water and then blocked out by the crash of thunder somewhere high above them and yet close enough that he can feel it rumble deep in his chest.

"Go away," he gasps, and water spills into his open mouth, crawling down his throat and rushing into his lungs. "Wake up," he chokes, and then there is no more breath left in him and no more around him, just black water-

 _Wake up,_ he begs himself silently as his lungs ache fit to burst and he thrashes uselessly. _Wake up, wake up, wake up--_

"Wake up!"

Air punches into Takumi's lungs hard enough to make his back arch, and his eyes fly open. A startlingly familiar face fills his vision.

"We have to go," Niles says, grasping his wrist and pulling him up onto his feet. Takumi sways, head spinning. "Here--" Niles pushes the Fujin Yumi into Takumi's hand, then gently herds him a few steps forward and picks up the blanket, folding it hastily and then stuffing it into his pack. Takumi reaches up to scrub at his eyes, then realises he is grasping Niles's cloak tightly in his hand. He pulls it close to his chest as images of the flood flash behind his eyelids, and he breathes in deeply, taking in as much of the clean, cold air as he can. His throat is sore.

Niles slings his bow over his back and Takumi picks his up as well, then holds Niles's cloak out to him.

Niles takes it, but instead of putting it on he slings it around Takumi's shoulders. "It'll make you harder to spot," he explains as he fastens the buckle at Takumi's throat. "Come on." Niles takes Takumi's wrist and starts leading him down the dirt path they came from with quick, heavy steps that has Takumi stumbling to keep up.

"What is it? Are there--" Takumi sweeps his gaze across the fields, but doesn't see or feel the presence of any Vallite soldiers.

"They're not here yet, but they will be soon," is all Niles says, expression hard. "Try to stay alert."

"H-How do you know? What happened?" Takumi asks breathlessly, feeling Niles's anxiety transfer over through the tightness of his grip.

Niles glances back towards Takumi, but before Takumi can make anything of his expression, yellow electricity flashes in the corner of his eye, and pure battle instinct sends him careening to the side, tackling Niles along with him as a Mjolnir spell crashes against the spot where he was just standing.

Debris explodes into the air, pelting Takumi with dirt as he scrambles to his feet, drawing the Fujin Yumi. From beside him, Niles draws his own bow and sends an arrow streaking through the air to their left, where the spell had come from. A sickening crunch and a ghastly snarl tells them he's hit his target.

"They're already here," Takumi gasps as he sees more hazy figures wreathed in purple flames approaching from over the hill where the first one had attacked from.

"Dammit," Niles growls. "There's no way we can take them all. Come on." He turns on his heel and starts sprinting down the dirt path towards the portal to the astral plane, and Takumi follows and tries not to look over his shoulder towards their pursuers.

Still, he can sense them gaining on them, and it isn't long before he hears the flapping of heavy, leathery wings.

"They have wyverns," Takumi warns, as if Niles doesn't already know.

"Naturally," Niles mutters, and Takumi sees his grip on his bow tighten, knuckles whitening. He pivots and releases two arrows behind them before turning back around and running on.

A beastly screech pierces the air around them, followed by a fierce, ground-shaking thud as one of the wyverns falls. When Takumi turns to throw a glance backwards, he sees that there are still two more hot on their tails.

Magical energy crackles cold and white in the air around them, and Niles grabs a fistful of the back of Takumi's shirt and shoves him forward, taking the full effect of the Fimbulvetr spell with a pained grunt.

"Niles!" Takumi's pace falters for a moment, but then Niles is at his side again, urging him back into a run. Frost coats his shirt and clings to one side of his neck, but he appears to be undamaged by the blow except for a shallow cut running down his arm, which he must have used to take the brunt of the spell.

"We can take them both with one hit each," says Niles, voice calm despite the short, strained breaths he's taking in. The cold from the spell had more of an effect that Takumi had thought--Takumi wishes he hadn't taken his cloak, but he forces himself to remain focused.

"On three," Takumi says, and together they both turn and unleash their arrows, only watching long enough to see both of the enemy malig knights fall before turning back around and clearing the last several hundred meters of the dirt path.

The portal to the astral plane pulses with white light just ahead of them, and they jump through to the sound of magic crackling and horses whinnying from behind them before everything fades to a familiar white silence.

The portal drops them in front of the northern entrance to the castle, and they stumble across the muraled floor as they catch their breath.

Takumi stares up at the portal, keeping his grip tight on the Fujin Yumi in case the Vallites manage to follow them through, but after a few minutes of bated breath, all remains quiet. Takumi feels his knees go weak with giddy relief.

He turns to Niles, a silly smile spreading wide across his face, and sees Niles return it with one of his own, blue eye crinkling.

"That was..." Takumi's sentence trails off into a disbelieving huff of laughter.

Niles's grin widens, and he steps in close. "It was," he agrees breathlessly.

For a second, as they stare at each other, panting lightly into the small space between them, all Takumi feels is a gravity, some invisible force pulling him in towards Niles. And then his body is moving on its own, pitching him forward into Niles's arms and tilting his head up to press his lips against Niles's.

Niles breathes in sharply through his nose and responds instantly, tilting his head to deepen the kiss and wrapping his arms tightly around Takumi, pressing up against him. Takumi's hands grasp at Niles's shoulders as their mouths move against each other--the heat thrumming between their bodies makes Takumi's head spin. He pulls away gasping and, ears burning at what he's done, finds himself unable to meet Niles's eyes. He ducks his head and tries to calm his heavy breathing even as his heart thuds obnoxiously in his chest.

"Are you okay?" Niles asks, and suddenly Takumi is aware of the hands resting on the small of his back.

He jolts, shoving Niles away reflexively, a little harder than he means to. Niles stumbles, eye widening with surprise.

"Sorry," Takumi gasps, not sure what he's apologizing for. His hands shake as he drops them to his sides, and then he's turning around and fleeing towards the barracks, mind racing with thoughts he can't decipher.

Niles doesn't call out after him, so he runs faster, chest tight and Fujin Yumi heavy across his back, and doesn't stop until he is safe in his room, alone with nothing but the familiarity of absolute silence to keep him company.

It isn't until he's been curled up in his futon for what feels like hours, trying in vain to figure out why he'd done what he had, that he realises he is still wearing Niles's cloak, gripping it tightly around his shoulders. He presses his face into the fabric, and lets the distinct pang of guilt in his chest follow him into his restless dreams.

-:-

Niles doesn't come looking for Takumi the next day, and when they do meet again the next afternoon it is completely by accident.

It is Sakura who sends him down to the rod shop to fetch a staff for her. She is too busy in the infirmary to make the trip herself, and Takumi offers to do her the favor. He's been in the rod shop a couple times, mostly to buy potions and seals, but the displays on the shelves have grown more impressive since the last time he was here.

He's searching for the Wane Festal Sakura requested when a familiar voice comes from his right.

"Can I help you with anything?"

Takumi stiffens. "Niles! I--I didn't realise..." He trails off, keeping his gaze averted as he tries not to fidget with the hem of his shirt. He wasn't prepared for this.

"There's no need to act so surprised. Everyone does their shifts at the shops," says Niles, and there is none of the nervousness in his voice that Takumi feels. Takumi wonders if he even thinks anything of what happened last night.

"Sorry," Takumi mumbles, and he forces himself to look up.

Niles looks rather relaxed, leaning his elbows against the counter and watching Takumi with a warm interest that makes him want to flinch away. If he is at all upset with Takumi over what happened the previous night, he isn't showing it.

"So, what are you looking for?" Niles asks. "We've got lots of interesting stuff in here--nothing strange or sinister for sale though, I'm afraid."

Takumi holds back a nervous laugh. "I'm looking for a staff. Um, a Wane Festal for my sister."

"Ah, certainly." Niles comes out from behind the counter, then goes up to the shelf Takumi is standing in front of, stepping up close to him so that Takumi catches his now-familiar earthy scent. He reaches up a couple shelves above their heads to pull down a wooden, ribboned staff and holds it out to Takumi with a friendly smile.

Takumi takes it, careful not to let their hands touch. "You could have just told me it was right in front of me..."

"I suppose I could have," says Niles, and then he turns and heads back towards the counter. "It's usually 3000 G for one of these, but how about a discount? 2500, just for you."

For some reason, Takumi feels his cheeks heat up. "You don't have to. I'll pay the full price."

"Don't be shy," says Niles, voice low, and something in the way his gaze bores into Takumi tells Takumi he's not just talking about the discount.

Takumi presses his lips together as he takes out his coin pouch and counts out 2500 G from the funds Sakura had given him. Niles holds his hand out, and Takumi drops the money into his open palm, trying not to think about how well he remembers the warmth of Niles's touch against his arm. "Thanks," he says.

"It was my pleasure," says Niles, and again Takumi can't shake the feeling that he's talking about two things at once.

"Um..." Takumi begins, but finds that he doesn't have the words to say what he wants to. He hesitates, gaze fixed on the Wane Festal.

"Was there something else?" Niles prompts softly, and Takumi flinches at the patience in his voice.

"I--I still have your cloak...I'll bring it over," Takumi sighs out, mentally kicking himself for losing his nerve.

"Oh. Sure. I appreciate it," says Niles, and Takumi is sure he isn't imagining the mild disappointment in Niles's voice.

"Um...wait right here. I'll be back," says Takumi, and he all but runs out of the shop, just barely remembering at the last second to take the staff with him.

He stops at the infirmary to drop it off the Sakura, but barely hears her thanking him, shifting his feet anxiously as he waits for her to let him go.

She gives him a strange look. "Takumi, are you all right?" she asks.

"I'm fine," Takumi replies automatically. "Here." He lays the 500 G he'd saved into Sakura's hand.

"Change?" she says. "I thought I remembered someone telling me the rod would cost exactly 3000 G..."

"Niles gave me a discount," Takumi mutters absently, and then with a distracted "see you," to Sakura, he's making his way back to the barracks.

The cloak is where he left it, folded neatly at the foot of his bed. He picks it up gently, like it is something delicate. He'd washed it in the morning out of courtesy, but knows that Niles's scent still lingers deep in its threads.

"Ugh, gods," he sighs, and sits down on his bed, laying the cloak on his lap. "Okay, just think about this for a moment."

Yesterday was...Takumi wracks his brain.

 _An accident, a mistake, a total disaster,_ his thoroughly wracked brain provides.

Niles was only trying to do something nice. "It’s what friends do," he'd said. It is Takumi's own fault, he realises with a twinge of guilt, for misconstruing his thoughtfulness as romantic affection.

But Niles had kissed him back. Niles was the one who'd put his arms around him, pulled him in--

 _Okay, focus_ , Takumi reminds himself, pushing back the images from yesterday. He'd probably done it just to be nice. He must have known that Takumi would be embarrassed beyond words if he'd rejected him right there and then.

Takumi thinks about how those moments they’d spent lying there, looking up at the unfamiliar sky, had felt like hours. He thinks about how, despite the fact that he’d still dreamed something terrible and dark, he hadn’t been afraid to let himself fall asleep there with Niles at his side.

He thinks about how he would like to have that every night, to be able to close his eyes and drift off to the sound of someone breathing softly and the feeling of something warm and solid by his side.

And despite it all, he wonders if Niles would feel the same.

Takumi groans and drops his head into his hands. He's running himself around in circles.

"Just be an adult about this," he tells himself. He'll apologize to Niles for the mess that was yesterday, and if he's lucky Niles will agree to stay as his friend.

Mind made up, Takumi stands up, clutching the cloak tightly, and makes his way back to the shop. He walks quickly, wishing with every step he takes that the shop was a little closer so that he can do this before he loses his nerve again.

It feels like he's walked miles before he finally steps through the door to find Niles right where he'd left him, lounging behind the counter and looking utterly bored before he spots Takumi.

Niles's expression brightens, eyebrows going up and a smile curling at his lips, and all ability to communicate coherently escapes Takumi instantly.

"Uh," Takumi says cleverly as he stops in front of the counter. He lifts the cloak, and Niles takes it from him.

"Thank you," says Niles.

Takumi nods numbly and scrambles for words, heart in his throat as he tries to remember what his plan was. "About yesterday..."

Takumi isn't expecting Niles's smile to widen at the mention of last night. "Did you have fun?" Niles asks.

"Huh? Oh--" He means the moongazing, Takumi realises. Or perhaps the chase with the Vallites--that seems more like Niles, really. "Y-yeah. It was nice," Takumi replies, and he doesn't need to remember the closeness of their bodies, the deep lull of Niles's voice sending him off to sleep, the adrenaline coursing through his veins during the thrill of their escape, to know that _It was nice_ is a massive understatement.

"That's good," says Niles, something bright in his gaze that makes Takumi swallow dryly. "I had fun too."

"W-well, about what I did--afterwards..."

Niles's expression turns careful, and Takumi feels his stomach drop. He should have just pretended it never happened. Why hadn't he thought of that earlier?

But now that he's mentioned it, he'll only make a fool of himself trying to brush it off, so he takes a deep breath and sticks to the plan.

"I'm really sorry," he says, looking down, and curses himself for it. There is nothing more insincere than an apology made towards the ground, King Sumeragi had taught him when he was a child. He licks his lips nervously and swallows. "You've been a really good friend to me, and you--you understand things about me that most other people don't. And I crossed a line I shouldn't have when I...did what I did," Takumi finishes lamely.

Niles doesn't reply, letting the weighty silence settle between them. Takumi bites his lip to keep it from quivering with anxiety, and he laces his fingers tightly together to keep his hands from shaking as he waits. He stares hard at the counter between them, letting the knots and little scratches in the wood consume his attention.

Niles lets out a soft sigh, and Takumi stiffens, bracing himself.

"You're kidding, right?"

Takumi flinches at the incredulity in Niles's voice, and feels his eyes sting with the threat of tears. He swallows it down forcefully. Of course an apology wouldn't be enough. Niles isn't a very forgiving person--this is one of the first things Takumi had learned about him, long before they met that night in the wheat fields.

"Have I been sending mixed signals, or something?" Niles asks.

Takumi hesitates, unsure of what Niles means.

"Hey." A pause--and then there is a warm hand on his chin, lifting his head.

Takumi blinks, face twisting into a fearful grimace.

"Whoa, hey. What’s with that look?" Niles wipes a thumb over his cheek in an oddly tender gesture.

Takumi shivers at the touch and turns his head away to scrub at his eyes. "I--I thought you were upset with me," he says lamely, voice thick. Humiliation burns high in his cheeks. Maybe if he concentrates hard enough, he can burst into flames right here and now so that he doesn't have to deal with remembering this moment for the rest of his miserable life.

" _Upset?_ Takumi, I--" Niles breaks off with an exasperated huff of laughter, and then he takes Takumi's face in his hands and kisses him.

Takumi lets out a startled yelp, hand flying up to grip Niles's wrist as the other slides his lips over Takumi's languidly before pulling back slowly.

"Does _that_ tell you how I felt about last night?" says Niles.

Takumi's mouth falls open, but no sound comes out, and he realises that there are too many thoughts in his brain right now to make sense of any of them. "You..."

Niles reaches up and smooths out the frown on Takumi's brow. "You know, I've met a lot of oblivious people in my life, but I don't think I've ever had someone apologize for kissing me after I'd been flirting with them all night ."

Takumi's eyes widen. "B-but you...you called me your friend," he mumbles. "I thought that was all you wanted from me."

" _That's_ what you were hung up on?" says Niles. "Gods, that was...that was me trying not to make you nervous. I didn't know how you'd react to me telling you I'd intended it as a--date."

Takumi blinks. "That was supposed to be a date?"

Niles shrugs, and the uncomfortable look on his face is strikingly out of character for him. "I guess this is partially my fault. I usually act the way I do with the expectation that it will scare people off, so I didn't really know how to act so that you would...stay."

"Oh," Takumi breathes. "Then...you don't mind that I--you also--?"

"Do I really have to spell it out further for you?" says Niles, though the look he gives Takumi is so fond that it makes his own chest swell with affection. "I'm not sure how to make it any clearer in a way that doesn't involve...socially inappropriate gestures."

A surprised giggle bursts from Takumi's lips and he covers it with a hand. "Okay, I get it. I just...never expected something like this to happen to someone like me." Takumi's expression falls, and he worries his lip lightly between his teeth, fighting the urge to say something unpleasant about himself though it comes so easy to him.

A bell chimes--both Takumi and Niles start and turn towards the door.

Corrin steps into the shop, then pauses when she sees them, glancing back and forth between the two of them.

"...Hello," Corrin says slowly, and Takumi suddenly realises that he and Niles are both leaning forward over the counter, their faces only inches apart.

Takumi pulls away a little too quickly, ducking his head to hide his face behind his bangs, and Niles clears his throat.

"Hello, Corrin," Niles says, the slightest tremor betraying the laughter in his voice. "What can I do for you?"

"Just stopping by for some supplies," says Corrin in that same careful voice, and Takumi can feel her eyes on him even as she moves across the store to pick up a Bloom Festal staff and place it on the counter. Takumi moves aside, feet shuffling across the floor, to make room as Corrin makes her purchase.

"Um, I'm going to head out," Takumi says before the atmosphere gets any more awkward than it already is.

"Hold on," says Niles, and he leans in again, not seeming to care that Corrin is currently boring a hole into the side of his skull with her gaze alone. "Tonight, by the fish pond," he murmurs into Takumi's ear.

Takumi glances up, and Niles grins at him, mischief gleaming in his eye.

Takumi gives a small nod, and the delighted look on Niles's face is brighter than the light of all three moons of Valla shining together. Takumi walks quickly out of the shop, head lowered and knuckle pressed against his lips to push back a smile.

-:-

Niles is feeding the fish in the pond when Takumi arrives at sundown, and he turns at the sound of his footsteps.

"Hey," says Takumi, and something in his chest flutters when Niles's expression melts into something fond and warm.

"There you are," Niles says, and pulls Takumi into a tight hug, burying his face into Takumi's hair. "Gods, I've waited so long to do this."

Heat flushes at the back of Takumi's neck, and he ducks his head against Niles's chest, hugging him back just as tightly. Niles is tall and warm and solid, and by now his scent is something familiar and safe.

As they pull back, Takumi feels Niles fiddle with the tie in his hair. "You got a new one," Niles says, and Takumi smiles when he remembers that he'd lost the other one last night.

"I have a lot of them," he explains. He'd simply retrieved a new one this morning without even thinking.

"Well, I suppose that takes some of the charm out of this, but..." Niles reaches into his pouch, and pulls out a black silk ribbon embroidered with swirling silver patterns.

"Oh--is this for me?" Takumi takes the ribbon from him and runs a hand over the intricately sewn patterns. "Niles, thank you. It's beautiful."

Niles rubs the back of his neck, ducking his gaze as an embarrassed smile tugs at his lips. "I'm glad you like it. Actually...Corrin helped me pick it out."

Takumi's eyebrows go up. "Corrin? She was glaring at you hard enough to make you sweat today."

"Yeah, about that...after you left, she asked me to explain everything," says Niles. "But after hearing it all she got really...excited about the whole thing."

"Wow," says Takumi, and somehow he finds that seems very much like his sister. "Well, I'm glad you got out of that unscathed."

Niles brushes his hand against Takumi's, the one that's holding the ribbon. "Will you put it on? I want to see how it looks on you."

Takumi blushes. He's never been vain about his hair--he wears it long because that's tradition, and he ties it up to keep it out of his face--but receiving the ribbon as a gift from Niles, hearing him ask to put it on for him to see...

Takumi's fingers are unusually clumsy as he takes apart the knot in the plain red ribbon he's wearing, holding his hair up and sliding it out to replace it with the new one, going through familiar movements as he winds it around his ponytail before tying it securely.

"Um, how's that?" he asks, tilting his head shyly for Niles to see.

"It looks good on you," says Niles, and he brushes a hand through Takumi's bangs, knuckles grazing lightly against his forehead. "Let's head out then, shall we?"

They skirt around the fish pond, towards the portal, but then Niles pauses and turns to Takumi once more.

"Just one last thing, actually," he says. He unclasps his adventurer's cloak, then throws it over Takumi's shoulders. "In case you get cold again."

Takumi pulls it close around himself with a small smile. "Thank you."

"Any time," Niles says, then ducks down to brush a feather-light kiss against Takumi's forehead. It's the second one he's given him, Takumi realises, remembering the gentle touches he thought he'd dreamt last night as he drifted off to sleep beside Niles underneath the Valla night sky.

Niles holds his hand out, and Takumi takes it and follows him through the portal.

 

**Author's Note:**

> this story is a little incomplete..i realise that the perspective is very heavily focused on takumi's inward thoughts so we don't learn much about what attracts niles to him. i originally wanted to write this story switching between their perspectives. i may add some extra scenes in niles's pov later on but dont count on it happening anytime soon lol. hope you enjoyed!! thanks for reading \o/


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